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‘for we must go seek adventures.’
Romance Motifs in “Le Morte Darthur” (1469-70), by Thomas Malory
(Unless otherwise stated, quotations and page numbers are from - Sir
Thomas Malory. Le Morte Darthur: The Winchester Manuscript. Ed. &
abr. Helen Cooper. Oxford World’s Classics; Oxford: OUP, 1998.)
1. General
Of Malory’s decision to write in prose as opposed to verse:
“Only one English translation of Vulgate Cycle material out of the five that precede
Malory uses prose; and his English sources are all in verse, stanzaic or alliterative. His
choice of prose may have been influence by the fact that the earliest English prose
romances tend to be stories of disaster or tragedy – stories such as Oedipus or the fall
of Troy – rather than of wish fulfillment and happy endings. That Malory gives his
whole work the title of the Morte Darthur, the death of Arthur, insists that this is a
story in which things go irrevocably wrong.” (p.ix.)
Of the enduring influence of Malory’s version of the Arthurian romance:
“After tastes changed in the course of the 16th century the French romances ceased to
be reprinted, and in so far as they have been known at all since then it is largely as
works for study by academics (…) Malory, by contrast, was reprinted several times
down to 1634; he passed into some obscurity after that, but since the revival of
interest in the Morte that started in the 19th century, he has served as the direct or
indirect basis for almost every Arthurian work in any medium..” (p.ix.)
Of Sir Thomas Malory as a person:
“…until 1450 he lived the life of a socially responsible member of the gentry, holding
various public offices including that of Member of Parliament. After this, however, he
turned to a career of crime and violence interspersed with long periods of
imprisonment.” (p.x.)
Of Malory’s ethical overview and the influence of the times in which he lived:
“His version is not a clash between earthly and divine focused on the issue of sexual
sinfulness [as in the Vulgate Cycle], but a study of the personal rivalries that underlie
political disintegration. His awareness of the connections between the story … and his
own times [War of the Roses] becomes on occasion explicit…” (p.xii.)
Of knighthood according to Malory:
“the ideal of knighthood that Malory presents is summarized in the oath [III.xv.57]
sworn by the Round Table Knights: to avoid treason and wrongful quarrels; to show
mercy; never to offer violence, esp. sexual violence, to gentlewomen (…) Later he
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adds that the quarrels in which a knight fights should come from God or his Lady; and
he repeats many times and in many forms that true love should be faithful and
unchanging. It is, in fact, an ideal of secular Christian chivalry, that incorporates
physical prowess, an observance of one’s duties to God (…) and faithful heterosexual
love.” (p.xiii.)
Of Malory’s narrative strategy – in using different ethical schemes to drive his plot:
“Secular romance gave primacy to love – most often to courtship and sexuality that
leads to marriage; less often, though more famously, to love independent of marriage,
such as proved its absoluteness by its inability to be constrained by the social taboos
against adultery in general, or, in particular, with the wife of one’s overlord. The
medieval church, by contrast, had a tendency to define spiritual perfection in terms of
sexual intactness, virginity, in a manner directly at odds with the ethos of secular
romance. Malory seems perfectly happy to give examples of all three attitudes…” [My
emphasis] (p.xiii-xiv.)
Of Malory’s style:
“The effect [I.e., of parataxis and very little internal monologue] is very different from
that of a novel, and all the indications are that Malory would not have wanted to write
one even if the form had been available to him [compare with Moody’s ‘Romance and
the novel are one.’]. His style has been compared to that of a chronicle, and indeed he
repeatedly insists on the fact that the Arthurian adventures were a matter of record:
that first Merlin, then Arthur, had written accounts made to document the deeds of the
Round Table for posterity. Malory takes up the position of a latter-day historian to
Arthur’s court.” (p.xvii.)
2. ‘Type’ and ‘Token’ Motifs
(In this section I list aspects of the text that hold thematic importance in
terms of the genre and some specific instances of memorable Romance
writing. Note that it is incomplete, the text used being abridged and only
sections of it consulted:– Bks. I-IV, VI and some of XIII-XXI.)
1. The secularization of divine authority via the divine right of kingship.
“..that He (Jesus) would of his great mercy show some miracle, as He was come to be
king of mankind, for to show some miracle who should be rightwise king of this
realm.” (I.5.8)
The miracle that makes this endorsement is, of course, the appearance of the sword in
the anvil - in the churchyard of ‘the greatest church of London’.
2. The power and respect of the King comes, however, direct from his strength in
arms on the battlefield.
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“..for all was blood and brains that stuck on his [Arthur’s] sword and on his shield.”
(I.10.15)
Arthur earns his right to command via courage and might in battle, to render his
religious authority actual.
3. The factual importance of battle narratives.
“And there he [Merlin] told how Arthur and the two kings had sped at the great battle,
and how it was ended, and told the names of every king and knight of worship that
was there…”
As with epic form, importance is placed upon recording the exact details of combat.
Thence Malory sets himself up as chronicler of a fictitious history.
4. Of ‘quests’ and ‘questing’.
There is a pre-determined element to the form of a quest. Only the ‘right’ person can
fulfil a particular task – as such Pellinore, not Arthur, can catch the ‘Questing Beast’
(I.20.22). This foreshadows the ultimate quest of the Grail, which can only be fulfilled
by the pure knight, and Sir Galahad – who alone can sit in the Siege Perilous.
5. A token motif:
“Sir, I am well aware (…) what I speak and here is my glove to prove it upon any man
that will say the contrary.” (I.20.24)
So says Ulfius to Arthur and assembled lords. The symbolism of the glove is given an
early outing.
6. The shameful stain of guilt and sin.
Arthur must rid himself of the guilt of his incest by disposing of the resulting child
(Mordred) and the prophesied doom that will come by him to Arthur. He has all those
high born children born on Mayday summoned to him, but their ship sinks and all
perish save Mordred. We have the reverse of the ancient tradition of the good
escaping the persecution of the unjust (see Herod and Jesus, Apollonius and
Antiochus, etc.). (I.27.31.)
7. The honour of a true knight sees him accept his ‘fate’.
“I [Balin] shall take the adventure that shall come to me.” (II.17.46.) So too does Sir
Lancelot actively pursue his ordained path, “..for we must go seek adventures.”
(VI.1.95.)
8. Heroism and exaggeration.
Honour is tested in combat, one on one, in a public space if possible. Until death or
until submission, and the acceptance by the loser that he is ‘recreant’. In the greatest
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fights between the greatest contenders there emerges the heroism of antiquity as the
protagonists are portrayed in superhuman terms, giving wounds
“..so that the least of them might have been the death of the mightiest giant in this
world..” (II.17.47)
9. An instance of epic name-tagging?
“Galahad the haut prince” – several times (e.g., [II.19.48.]; [VIII.4.314.]) the name
Galahad goes with the epithet ‘the haut prince’. Perhaps this is an echo of Homer’s
memorable technique.
10. Of social class, riding mares and knighthood.
“Forthwith there came a poor man into the court, and brought with him a fair young
man of 18 years of age riding upon a lean mare.” (III.3.52.)
The tale of Tor’s knighthood deserves some comment. First, he arrives on a mare,
which of course is not a knightly steed. Second, his father is a cowherd, and asks for
his son to be knighted, much to the amazement of the assembled lords and ladies. It is
a social confrontation that could have had interesting results in terms of a ‘careers for
the talents’ debate. However, it transpires that he is, in fact, the son of King Pellinore,
who had ravished his mother (see below) before she married the cowherd. As such he
is fully entitled to become a knight being of noble blood after all. Rather
disappointing.
11. The ravishment of the lower orders.
“.. ‘there met with me a stern knight, and half by force he had my maidenhood.”
(III.3.53.)
The treatment by knights of non-gentlewomen seems ambiguous at best. Why is a
‘stern knight’ (King Pellinore) not ashamed to abuse the lower classes? Where is the
‘love thy neighbour’ in this? Notice also the expression ‘half by force’. What does this
entail? Is the other half obligation, pleasure, self-interest, fear? Or can’t the writer
quite bring himself to accept that the stern knight is capable of raping a woman?
12. The witnessing of ‘marvelous adventures’ at feasts.
At celebratory feasts there is a strong likelihood of something marvelous happening.
At Arthur and Gueniveres’ wedding banquet the hunt for the white hart (III.5.54.)
intrudes, an adventure taken on and spectacularly failed by Gawain (as in SGGK) –
another unfortunate beheading incident. Before the quest for the Grail is undertaken
we hear mention of Arthur’s tradition of not eating until he has seen some adventure.
“ ‘If ye go now unto your meat ye shall break your old custom of your court, for ye
have not (…) seen some adventure.
13. The specific doctrine of Round Table knighthood, as contained in the oath taken
on membership and as exemplified by Sir Lancelot.
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(the King) “..charged them never to do outrage nor murder, and always to flee treason,
and to give mercy unto him that asketh mercy, (…) and always to do ladies, damosels,
and gentlewomen and widows succour; strengthen them in their rights, and never to
enforce them, upon pain of death. Also, that no man take no battles in a wrongful
quarrel for no love, nor for no worldly goods. So unto this were all the knights sworn
of the Round Table, both old and young. And every year so were they sworn at the
high feast of Pentecost.” (III.15.57.)
(Sir Ector’s eulogy for the fallen Lancelot.)
“ ‘..thou [Lancelot] were head of all Christian knights! (…) And thou were the
courteoust knight that ever bore shield; and thou were the truest friend to thy lover
that ever bestrode horse; and thou were the truest lover of a sinful man that has ever
loved woman; and thou were the kindest man that ever struck sword; and thou were
the goodliest person that ever came among press of knights. And thou was the
meekest man and the gentlest that ever ate in hall among ladies, and thou were the
sternest knight to thy mortal foe that ever put spear in the rest.’ ” (XXI.8.526.)
Note the combination and balance of behaviours – those inside the hall and out in the
world – that denotes the ideal. Notice particularly the emphasis on actions as opposed
to ‘faith’. Mass is scrupulously attended by worthy knights and their conduct is
measured in terms of rewards and punishments, and so is not entirely a system of
virtue for its own sake.
14. The ambiguous relation between magic and honour.
The complex situation [IV.9-12.66-9.] wherein Arthur battles Sir Accolon, (paramour
of Morgan le Fay) reveals the storyteller’s difficulty in maintaining the integrity and
honour of knighthood side by side with the exciting (but unfair) world of magical
weapons. Morgan Le Fay’s treachery obliges Arthur to fight against his own
Excaliber and its preserving sheath, thereby revealing him to be a true champion.
Notice, however, that he wins because Nenive intervenes on his behalf with an
enchantment that makes Accolon drop Excaliber. See also that via Morgan le Fay’s
magic Accolon is enabled to be both treacherous and honourable at the same time:
“But I wite (blame) thee the less, for my sister Morgan le Fay by her false crafts made
thee agree to her false lusts.”
15. Unrequited love and disloyalty of the heart
The story of Sir Pelleas and Lady Ettard [IV.21-22.75-6.], as seen by Gawain, raises
the notion of unrequited love. The pride of the Lady Ettard cases her to reject the
valiant and worthy knight, and to systematically humiliate him in an attempt to get
him to leave her alone. He endures her taunts for love’s sake. Gawain intervenes,
sleeps with Ettard, such that they are discovered together by Pelleas. He laments the
duplicity of oath-breaking Gawain (but won’t kill him as a brother of the Round
Table) and hates who he formerly loved. Nenive then enchants Ettard to love him and
so the original situation is reversed, except Ettard dies from sorrow and Pelleas lives
happily with Nenive. The symmetry here, and the feeling that the writer is dishing out
fair dos, sets up an idea of lex talionis in love. Not so much Christian as Mosaic in
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inspiration. I notice Gawain gets away with it again – and does not have his conduct
examined in any way.
16. Of falling asleep under an apple tree.
Lancelot meets his first adventure having fallen asleep under an apple tree. [VI.1.95.]
One is reminded of the fairy world of Sir Orfeo, etc., though his nephew, Sir Lionel, is
carried off by flesh and blood assailants.
17. The system of combat in Malory’s Arthurian world as compared to the game of
‘conkers’.
Lancelot kills and defeats many knights in honourable combat and his reputation is
enhanced more by defeating those who have themselves defeated many, like Sir
Tarquin,
“..he hath in his prison, of Arthur’s court, good knights three score and four, that he
hath won with his own hands,” (VI.7.104.)
Note that in this fashion, the reputation/deeds equation operates the same as
schoolboy conkers, whereby the value of a conker takes on the accumulative value of
those it defeats, such that a ‘fiver’ that beats a ‘sixer’ becomes an ‘elevener’, and so
on. This also might explain the severity with which breaches of the rules of conduct in
conkers are taken. Cheating (use of varnish, heat treatment, etc.) is here a gross defect
of honour, the lowest act – a stolen reputation is, of course, no reputation at all.
18. Lancelot expresses his views on the life of adventure as opposed to that of a
husband or a lover.
“ ‘but for to be a wedded man, I think it not; for then I must couch with her, and leave
arms and tournaments, battles and adventures. And as for to say to take my pleasance
with paramours, that will I refuse, in principal for dread of God. For knights that be
adventurous should not be adulterers nor lecherous, for then they be not happy nor
fortunate unto the wars; for either they shall be overcome with a simpler knight than
they be themselves, [as in the righteous defeats the strong] or else they shall slay by
unhap and their cursedness better men than they be themselves [as in the unrighteous
used as an instrument of evil]. And so who that useth paramours shall be unhappy,
and all thing unhappy that is about them.’ ” (VI.10.108.)
Notice that what starts as an observance of virtue as a Christian necessity goes on to
take a more pragmatic significance. Lancelot makes sexual purity desirable as a quid
pro quo, (to earn good fortune) not as something good in itself, or because Christ
teaches it. Thus we see Malory’s transformation of chivalry from religious to secular
auspices.
19. Of the importance of heraldry.
Lancelot uses heraldry to aid Sir Kay. He takes Sir Kay’s armour and leaves his own,
knowing that wearing it Sir Kay will not be bothered by anyone.
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“ ‘Now by my faith, I [Sir Kay] know that he will grieve some of the court of King
Arthur; for on him knights will be bold, and deem that it I, and that will beguile them.
And because of his armour and shield I am sure I shall ride in peace.’ ” (VI.12.112.)
20. The conformity of beginnings with ends.
Lancelot returns to Camelot after his round of adventures, and the results of his feats
of arms and chivalry come in thick and fast. Each episode that ended previously with
the behest that the protagonists go and tell Arthur’s court is tied up via their praise of
Lancelot. The conclusion, thus,
“And so at that time Sir Lancelot had the greatest name of any knight of the world,
and most he was honoured of high and low.” (VI.18.118-9.)
Malory sets up the example of Lancelot as the epitome of a successful career in
knighthood. Lancelot has established and kept up a reputation that conforms to the
ideals of chivalry. We see the possibility for a ‘good life’, and learn the purpose
behind the obligation to test oneself by adventure – why we ‘must go seek adventure’.
That the ideal crumbles through man’s failure to live with man is the final ending to
which this, unfortunately, is just a plateau from which possibilities can be seen.
Arthur’s Round Table in the Great Hall at
Winchester. (probably made by Edward I in the
late 13th century).